The Good Asian or The Bad Asian — who am I?

Okay, grasshoppers, I really need your help today. Slowly and steadily, your humble servant is progressing towards a real book project. So far, I’ve got 3.48 out of 18 chapters drafted.

And now, I’m stuck.

My book will be a collection of essays sharing what I’ve learned about getting the life I want. It will deal with how my Chinese immigrant parents raised me — and how I broke out of the box. (Regular readers of this blog know this as a familiar drumbeat.)

Thankfully, I’m making progress. But I have hit a creative fork in the road: Which way should I go in honing the material and message?

Can you offer some feedback? Your responses to any/all of the questions below will be useful. Those of you who would like to respond privately can email me at betty@bettymingliu.com.

Okay, here we go…

Do you view me as The Good Asian or The Bad Asian? When you hear the name “Betty Ming Liu,” which one describes me? Or maybe you don’t think of me in these terms at all?

If you’re not Asian, would “Asian” in the book title turn you off? Right now, my blog readership is very diverse and I want to keep my book readership diverse too. If you’re not Asian, what would you want me to write about in this book?

If you’re Asian, what topics would speak to you? I actually don’t know if there are two audiences I’m writing for, or one. Your thoughts?

Do you know who Confucius is? He will be an evil character in my book. I think he’s responsible for a lot of my problems but not sure anyone knows who he is, especially young people. When you hear the word “Confucius,” what comes to mind?

What does being The Good Asian or The Bad Asian mean to you? Feel free to answer this question any way you want.  :)

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I’m taking the next few days off from my job to sit home and write. My goal is to complete what’s known in the book-writing business as “the shitty first draft.” As always, your feedback will change my life. Thanks in advance for your help.

Oh, and here’s a doodle of Confucius that will give you an idea of how I’ll be illustrating the book. Thanks again! xo